Thermostat Adjustment System

ABSTRACT

A thermostat adjustment system for efficiently conserving energy within a thermostatically controlled zone. The thermostat adjustment system generally includes a transmitter unit having a toggle button in communication with a thermostat to toggle the thermostat set point between a normal set point and an alternate set point.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

I hereby claim benefit under Title 35, United States Code, Section119(e) of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/737,765 filedNov. 18, 2005. The 60/737,765 application is currently pending. The60/737,765 application is hereby incorporated by reference into thisapplication.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable to this application.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to thermostats and morespecifically it relates to a thermostat adjustment system forefficiently conserving energy within a thermostatically controlled zone.

2. Description of the Related Art

Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should inno way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely knownor forms part of common general knowledge in the field.

Thermostats have been in use for years. Typically, thermostats areutilized to regulate a temperature within a particular zone. Thethermostat generally maintains a desired temperature by controlling theheat in and out of the zone. Thermostats are generally set manually bythe user to the desired temperature; however in recent years thermostatshave also included remote control devices to adjust the set temperatureof the thermostat.

Many people waste hundreds or even thousands of dollars every year byleaving their thermostat at the normal temperature when not needed (i.e.at work, sleeping, vacation, etc.). To overcome this waste of energy andmoney the user must generally set their thermostat or thermostats to anenergy saving mode (i.e. temperature similar to an outside temperature)while they are away from their home or office. Because of theinconvenience associated with doing so and the potential for forgettingby consumers, consumers do not generally adjust the temperature on theirthermostats for each zone of their home or office when away.

Different thermostat devices have been utilized in the past to overcomethis obstacle of routinely setting the thermostat to energy saving mode.One of these devices is a programmable thermostat. The programmablethermostat generally allows the consumer to preset their thermostat to acertain temperature at a given time or given day, wherein the given dayor given time is generally meant to be part of a routine. A maindisadvantage of the programmable thermostats are that consumersgenerally have changing schedules and are generally somewhatunpredictable in the times that they will be at home. For this reasonprogrammable thermostats may be more of an inconvenience than a benefit.

Remote controlled thermostats generally allow the consumer to adjusttheir thermostat up or down by one degree at a time. These remotecontrolled thermostats generally only control one thermostat, whereinmany consumers have multiple different thermostats throughout their homeor office. Because of the general lack of efficiency and practicality inthe prior art there is the need for a new and improved thermostatadjustment system for efficiently conserving energy within athermostatically controlled zone.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The general purpose of the present invention is to provide a thermostatadjustment system that has many of the advantages of the thermostatsmentioned heretofore. The invention generally relates to thermostatswhich includes a transmitter unit having a toggle button incommunication with a thermostat to toggle the thermostat set pointbetween a normal set point and an alternate set point.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, some of the features ofthe invention in order that the detailed description thereof may bebetter understood, and in order that the present contribution to the artmay be better appreciated. There are additional features of theinvention that will be described hereinafter and that will form thesubject matter of the claims appended hereto.

In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of theinvention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited in its application to the details of construction or to thearrangements of the components set forth in the following description orillustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of otherembodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways.Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminologyemployed herein are for the purpose of the description and should not beregarded as limiting.

An object is to provide a thermostat adjustment system for efficientlyconserving energy within a thermostatically controlled zone.

Another object is to provide a thermostat adjustment system thatattaches to a keychain.

An additional object is to provide a thermostat adjustment system thatis wall mountable.

A further object is to provide a thermostat adjustment system thatcontrols multiple thermostats simultaneously.

Another object is to provide a thermostat adjustment system that mayindependently control multiple thermostats.

Another object is to provide a thermostat adjustment system that is easyto use.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeobvious to the reader and it is intended that these objects andadvantages are within the scope of the present invention. To theaccomplishment of the above and related objects, this invention may beembodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings, attentionbeing called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrativeonly, and that changes may be made in the specific constructionillustrated and described within the scope of the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various other objects, features and attendant advantages of the presentinvention will become fully appreciated as the same becomes betterunderstood when considered in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which like reference characters designate the same orsimilar parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is an in use view of the present invention, wherein thetransmitter unit is controlling multiple thermostats within differentzones of a building.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of the functionality of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of the functionality of the thermostat.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the connectivity between thetransmitter unit and the thermostat.

FIG. 5 is an upper perspective view of the thermostat illustrating themain components.

FIG. 6 is a front view of the thermostat illustrating the maincomponents.

FIG. 7 is an upper perspective view of the front of the transmitter unitillustrating the main components.

FIG. 8 is an upper perspective view of the back of the transmitter unitillustrating the main components.

FIG. 9 is a front view of the thermostat illustrating the maincomponents.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the thermostat illustrating themain components.

FIG. 11 is an upper perspective view of the transmitter unitillustrating the main components and attached to a keychain.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A. Overview

Turning now descriptively to the drawings, in which similar referencecharacters denote similar elements throughout the several views, FIGS. 1through 11 illustrate a thermostat adjustment system 10, which comprisesa transmitter unit having a toggle button in communication with athermostat to toggle the thermostat set point between a normal set pointand an alternate set point.

B. Transmitter Unit

The transmitter unit 20 allows a user to easily toggle between a normaltemperature set point and a pre-programmed alternative set point uponthe thermostat 30. It can be utilized on multiple thermostats 30 withina building 14. The transmitter unit 20 preferably propagates anelectromagnetic wave to a receiver 39 positioned within the thermostat30 as illustrated in FIG. 1. The electromagnetic wave from thetransmitter is further preferably comprised of a radio wave. Thetransmitter unit 20 is preferably able to send a signal to thethermostat 30 from adequate distances, wherein the user may be outsideof their home or office and still be able to control all of thethermostats 30 within the home of office. The transmitter unit 20 isable to control multiple thermostats 30 simultaneously, wherein themultiple thermostats 30 may be positioned within different zones 12 of abuilding 14 as illustrated in FIG. 1. It is appreciated that the presentinvention may also utilize a two-way data link between the thermostat 30and the transmitter unit 20. The two-way data link would requireadditional circuitry, controls and possibly display units.

The transmitter unit 20 includes a shell 21, wherein the shell 21 ispreferably small in size so as to be easily transported by the user. Thetransmitter unit 20 is preferably comprised of a key fob configuration.The transmitter unit 20 may also attach to a keychain to allowconvenient transportation of the transmitter unit 20 and also to remindthe user to toggle the temperature setting upon the thermostat 30 whengrabbing their keys 16. The transmitter unit 20 may also include anattachment member 29 to easily attach to a keychain as illustrated inFIG. 11.

The transmitter unit 20 includes at least one battery 27 to provideadequate power to the transmitter unit 20 as shown in FIG. 10. Thebattery 27 or batteries are preferably positioned within a compartment26 of the transmitter unit 20. The compartment 26 is preferably easilyaccessible upon the transmitter unit 20.

The transmitter unit 20 includes a toggle button 22. When depressed thetoggle button 22 preferably switches between the normal setting and thetoggle setting upon the thermostat 30. The toggle button 22 ispreferably recessed within the transmitter unit 20 to prevent the userfrom accidentally engaging the toggle button 22 or to prevent apremature discharge of the batteries 27 within the transmitter unit 20.A firm pressure is also preferably required to depress the toggle button22 so as to prevent accidental engagement of the toggle button 22. It isappreciated that the transmitter unit 20 may include may include morethan one button to toggle the temperature settings upon the thermostat30, such as but not limited to an off button and an on button.

The transmitter unit 20 also preferably includes an indicator 24 asshown in FIGS. 7, 9 and 11. The indicator 24 may be comprised of variousconfigurations, such as but not limited to an LED light, a vibratingmechanism and an audible alert. The audible alert may utilize variousaudible signals, such as but not limited to a buzzer. It is appreciatedthat the transmitter unit 20 may include more than one indicator 24 toserve several purposes, such as but not limited to alerting the user ifthe toggle button 22 is engaged, alerting the user of a low battery 27within the transmitter unit 20 or alerting the user which thermostats 30are being controlled if multiple thermostats 30 are utilized with thepresent invention.

The transmitter unit 20 also preferably includes a plurality of firstadjustment members 28 as shown in FIG. 8. The first adjustment members28 may be built into the transmitter unit 20 or positioned upon anoutside of the transmitter unit 20. The first adjustment members 28 mayalso be comprised of a plurality of configurations, such as but notlimited to a plurality of jumpers, a plurality of switches or a sensor.The first adjustment members 28 may also be preset at the time ofmanufacture of the transmitter unit 20 or the first adjustment members28 may be set by the user at the time of installation of the transmitterunit 20 and the thermostat 30. The first adjustment members 28 allow theuser to set a unique access code for the transmitter unit 20 so as tonot interfere with other household objects and to prevent thetransmitter unit 20 from controlling undesired thermostats 30. A similaraccess code is then set upon the second adjustment members 38 ofthermostats 30 that the user desires to control.

C. Thermostat

The thermostat 30 is controlled by the transmitter unit 20 asillustrated in FIG. 1 and 4. It is appreciated that multiple thermostats30 may be utilized with the present invention, wherein the transmitterunit 20 is able to toggle temperature settings of the multiplethermostats 30. The thermostat 30 is also preferably comprised of adigital thermostat 30 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. The thermostat 30further preferably includes normal thermostat 30 functions common in theart, such as but not limited to control of heating, control ofventilation, control of air conditioning and programmable features toset different temperature set points for different times of theday/week.

The thermostat 30 includes at least one circuit board positioned withinthe thermostat 30. The thermostat 30 includes a receiver 39 to receivethe electromagnetic waves propagated by the transmitter unit 20. Thereceiver 39 is preferably comprised of a standard radio frequencyreceiver common in the art. The receiver 39 is preferably positionedwithin the thermostat 30 as illustrated in FIG. 5; however it isappreciated that the receiver 39 may be positioned upon an outside ofthe thermostat 30. The receiver 39 is farther electrically connected toat least one circuit board. It is appreciated that the receiver 39 mayalso be configured to transmit signals, thus functioning as atransceiver, if it is desired to allow two way communications betweenthe thermostat 30 and the transmitter unit 20. Utilizing a transceivercould allow for additional functionality and security for the presentinvention.

The thermostat 30 preferably includes a display area, wherein thedisplay area preferably includes a normal setting display 32, a togglesetting display 33 and a current temperature display 34 as shown inFIGS. 5 and 6. It is appreciated that the normal setting display 32, thetoggle setting display 33 and the current temperature display 34 may notall be displayed simultaneously, wherein the thermostat 30 may include abutton to switch between displays 32, 33 and 34.

The normal setting display 32 preferably displays the normal temperaturesetting that the user has set upon the thermostat 30. The toggle settingdisplay 33 preferably displays the temperature setting that the userdesires to utilize when they toggle the thermostat 30 with thetransmitter unit 20, such as but not limited to when they leave theirhome or office and wish to conserve energy by adjusting the thermostat30 to a lower temperature setting. For example, during colder times ofthe year the user may desire to allow their house to cool when they areaway from home rather than heating an empty home at a normal temperaturesetting. Likewise, during warmer times of the year the user may desireto allow their house to heat up when they are away from home rather thancooling an empty home at a normal temperature setting.

The thermostat 30 includes at least one control button 36 as shown inFIGS. 5 and 6. The control button 36 is preferably able to accessdifferent settings of the thermostat 30. For example the control button36 may be depressed to access the toggle setting display 33. The togglesetting display 33 may be adjusted with the first adjustment button 35and the second adjustment button 37. The normal setting display 32 maybe adjusted in a similar manner to the toggle setting display 33. It isappreciated that other methods of adjustment may be utilized withchanging the temperature set points upon the normal setting display 32and the toggle setting display 33, such as but not limited to a slideradjustment member.

The thermostat 30 also preferably includes a plurality of secondadjustment members 38 as shown in FIG. 5. The second adjustment members38 may be built into the thermostat 30 or positioned upon an outside ofthermostat 30 as illustrated in FIG. 5. The second adjustment members 38are further electrically connected to at least one circuit board. Thesecond adjustment members 38 may also be comprised of a plurality ofconfigurations, such as but not limited to a plurality of jumpers,toggle switches or a sensor.

The second adjustment members 38 may also be preset at the time ofmanufacture of the thermostat 30 or the second adjustment members 38 maybe set by the user at the time of installation of the thermostat 30 andthe thermostat 30. The second adjustment members 38 allow the user toset a unique access code for the thermostat 30 to receive a signal fromthe transmitter unit 20.

Alternatively, if it is desired to have independent control of themultiple thermostats 30, the thermostats 30 could be set up with acommon base code from the second adjustment members 38, wherein a fewbits of different code for each thermostat 30 would be present. Thetransmitter unit 20 could thus be programmed to transmit one code or theother, depending on which thermostat 30 is desired to be toggled. Thetransmitting of different codes could be accomplished through variousmethods, such as but not limited to utilizing multiple buttons upon thetransmitter unit 20 or different button sequences.

One example of an appropriate coding scheme would be to use the first 10bits of a 12 bit address for the common base code. The first 10 bitswould be programmed to the common base code upon all of the thermostats30 in a given building 14 or location. The remaining 2 bits from the 12bit address could be assigned to each of up to 4 thermostats 30. It isappreciated that different coding schemes may be utilized with thepresent invention rather than the above example.

D. Operation of Preferred Embodiment

In use, the user first adjusts the normal setting display 32 upon thethermostat 30 to the desired comfort setting for when the user ispresent within the building 14 (i.e. home, office, etc.). The user alsoadjusts the toggle setting display 33 upon the thermostat 30 to thedesired setting for when the user is away from the building 14 orsleeping within the building 14 (i.e. energy saving setting).

When the user wishes to toggle between temperature settings (i.e. isleaving the building 14, returning to the building 14, etc.), the userdepresses the toggle button 22. The toggle button 22 then transmits asignal from the transmitter unit 20 to the thermostat 30 or thermostats30 as illustrated in FIG. 2. The receiver 39 within the thermostat 30then receives the signal and adjusts to the next temperature set point.If the thermostat 30 is currently set on the normal temperature setpoint the thermostat 30 adjusts to the toggle temperature set point.Likewise, if the thermostat 30 is currently set on the toggletemperature set point the thermostat 30 adjusts to the normaltemperature set point as illustrated in FIG. 3. This process is simplyrepeated whenever the user desires to toggle the temperature set pointupon the thermostat 30.

What has been described and illustrated herein is a preferred embodimentof the invention along with some of its variations. The terms,descriptions and figures used herein are set forth by way ofillustration only and are not meant as limitations. Those skilled in theart will recognize that many variations are possible within the spiritand scope of the invention, which is intended to be defined by thefollowing claims (and their equivalents) in which all terms are meant intheir broadest reasonable sense unless otherwise indicated. Any headingsutilized within the description are for convenience only and have nolegal or limiting effect.

1. A method of operating a thermostat adjustment system, comprising:providing a thermostat having a normal set point and an alternate setpoint, wherein said thermostat controls a temperature within a room of abuilding; providing a transmitter unit that is capable of transmitting atoggle signal that is receivable by said thermostat; programming saidnormal set point to a desired normal room temperature; programming saidalternate set point to a desired away temperature; operating saidthermostat at said normal set point; and activating said transmitterunit to transmit said toggle signal to said thermostat thereby causingsaid thermostat to switch to said alternate set point.
 2. The method ofoperating a thermostat adjustment system of claim 1, including the stepof activating said transmitter unit to transmit said toggle signal tosaid thermostat thereby causing said thermostat to switch to said normalset point.
 3. The method of operating a thermostat adjustment system ofclaim 1, wherein said step of activating said transmitter unit iscomprised of selecting a toggle button of said transmitter unit.
 4. Amethod of operating a thermostat adjustment system, comprising:providing a plurality of thermostats each having a normal set point andan alternate set point, wherein said plurality of thermostats eachcontrol a temperature within a corresponding plurality of zones of abuilding; providing a transmitter unit that is capable of transmitting atoggle signal that is receivable by said plurality of thermostats;programming said normal set point to a desired normal room temperaturefor each of said plurality of thermostats; programming said alternateset point to a desired away temperature for each of said plurality ofthermostats; operating said plurality of thermostats at said normal setpoint; and activating said transmitter unit to transmit said togglesignal to said plurality of thermostats thereby causing said pluralityof thermostats to switch to said alternate set point.
 5. The method ofoperating a thermostat adjustment system of claim 4, including the stepof activating said transmitter unit to transmit said toggle signal tosaid plurality of thermostats thereby causing said plurality ofthermostats to switch to said normal set point.
 6. The method ofoperating a thermostat adjustment system of claim 4, wherein said stepof activating said transmitter unit is comprised of selecting a togglebutton of said transmitter unit.
 7. A method of operating a thermostatadjustment system, comprising: providing a thermostat having a normalset point and an alternate set point, wherein said thermostat controls atemperature within a room of a building; providing a transmitter unitthat is capable of transmitting a toggle signal that is receivable bysaid thermostat; programming said normal set point to a desired normalroom temperature; programming said alternate set point to a desired awaytemperature; operating said thermostat at said normal set point; andactivating said transmitter unit to transmit said toggle signal to saidthermostat thereby causing said thermostat to toggle between saidalternate set point and said normal set point.
 8. The method ofoperating a thermostat adjustment system of claim 7, including the stepof activating said transmitter unit to transmit said toggle signal tosaid thermostat thereby causing said thermostat to switch to said normalset point.
 9. The method of operating a thermostat adjustment system ofclaim 7, wherein said step of activating said transmitter unit iscomprised of selecting a toggle button of said transmitter unit.